Chapter 3: Never Empty-Handed

"Meow meow meow meow!"

"You, me, him."

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G..."

"Yo~shi."

The torrential rain had stopped.

It was late evening by the wilderness lake.

The round, fluffy Fluffball ambled along with a slightly awkward gait, its three-lobed mouth opening to emit a clear, childish voice as it practiced the newly learned and still unfamiliar languages of the world.

Though the System had forcibly imprinted basic language knowledge into its mind, having never spoken before, it could only express itself in simple phrases. Fluency came through practice, and it hadn't had nearly enough yet.

The greatest benefit of this reward was that Emi could finally understand human language. Although she had understood bits and pieces before, she often pretended not to hear Grandma's scoldings to avoid getting in trouble.

Emi was in a good mood. She had been experimenting with her mysterious "energy" to replenish the so-called "door." Replenishing it left her exhausted and ravenously hungry, but after eating and resting, she would fully recover.

Though her seven-year-old intellect couldn't grasp what 0.2% on the energy progress bar meant, the clever cat knew that as long as she kept replenishing energy, she would eventually open a path back home!

Emi didn't fully comprehend the concept of "the world" either. All she knew was that this was how she could return home.

But that could wait. The most pressing issue was that she hadn't eaten for an hour, and replenishing that energy always left her starving.

Emi lowered her head and sniffed the air. The recent rain made gathering information through scent more than twice as difficult as usual.

Suddenly, she sensed something. Her ears twitched, and she whirled around to face a tall human leading a dark horse, their lips painted with cyan lipstick.

The two men stared at Emi for a long moment.

Finally, Gold Tooth grinned, revealing his gleaming gold teeth, and turned to his companion. "Johnny, look what I found! A cat that looks just like a panda. Looks like we won't have to worry about lunch."

"Meow!" Emi's fur instantly bristled as she understood every word. She shuffled backward awkwardly, her fur standing on end, emitting a menacing growl. This little kitten is no pushover!

"What are you talking about? You're not seriously thinking about eating a cat, are you?" Johnny's forehead broke out in a cold sweat as he grabbed Gyro's sleeve, preventing him from doing something utterly incomprehensible.

"Relax, man, I was just joking. This cat's wearing a collar—it's clearly someone's pet. You're such a softie when it comes to animals. Where's that ruthless determination you had when we were hunting rabbits?" Gyro stomped his foot forcefully on the ground.

"Meow!"

Emi bolted, sprinting until she was a safe distance away. Only then did she dare to glance back and realize the men weren't chasing her.

How can you even compare rabbits to cats...

"But I remember hearing rumors that cats are messengers of the devil, right? They were even said to bring plagues in the Middle Ages."

"That's probably because the mass slaughter of cats back then allowed the plagues to spread further..."

Emi lay prone on the ground, watching them from a distance.

A strange sensation stirred within her, neither danger nor familiarity. The oddity stemmed from their organs—a right eye and a left hand—which seemed to resonate faintly with her back.

Even a cat brain could guess that these were the items the System wanted her to collect.

"Meow?"

But Emi had no idea how to obtain them. She could sense them embedded within their bodies. Was she supposed to dig them out?

It was common knowledge that a little kitten couldn't defeat a big cat.

In contrast to Emi, the two men seemed oblivious to the Sage's Remains within her.

Ignoring the stray kitten that had likely wandered from a nearby village, Gyro pulled out a fishing rod. "Hey Johnny, do you know how to catch earthworms? I heard if you stick a rod in the ground and scrape it back and forth with something rough, they'll come crawling out."

For long journeys, it was essential to prepare ample food beforehand. Even if supplies ran low during the competition, they'd sooner hunt wild game than waste time fishing.

The earlier rain had been torrential, and during their fight with Diego, a stray claw had torn a hole in their waterproof tarp. Some of their dry rations had been soaked and ruined, a discovery they only made after leaving town.

This wilderness area had only one water source, and due to the arid climate, even the puddles left by the downpour hadn't lasted until the next day. If they were lucky, they might encounter wild animals like the cat, replenishing their water. With their long-range Stands, they weren't worried about catching food.

Besides, night was falling, and no one in their right mind would travel at this hour. Taking a little time to cast a couple of lines wouldn't significantly delay their progress.

Gyro pulled a soggy loaf of bread from his bag and tossed it to Emi, who was standing nearby.

Emi sniffed it disdainfully and pawed it aside.

This garbage? Not even a dog would eat it.

"It feels like it just rained," Johnny said awkwardly from atop his horse. "We probably don't need that little trick... I'm going to relieve myself. Can you set up my fishing rod for me?"

Paralyzed from the waist down due to a past incident, Johnny required assistive devices to use the restroom. Even after traveling together for so long, discussing his condition still made him uncomfortable.

"Go on, buddy, but don't wander too far. Shout if you need anything. And if you spot a wild rabbit or bird, try to bag one. At least that's edible, right?"

The President might still be secretly sending assassins after us at any moment.

The so-called fishing rod was nothing more than a crude stick with some rope and wire. Gyro hadn't planned on relying on fishing for survival, so he hadn't bothered with a proper rod.

Still, this lake probably didn't have any fish big enough to pull someone in...

Just as Gyro finished setting up Johnny's rod, he saw his own line twitch. He quickly reeled it in. "Super lucky!"

The result was a tiny fish, barely enough to tickle his teeth.

"Meow?" Emi raised her head.

After a moment's hesitation, she cautiously approached, tilted her head, and let out a sweet, plaintive meow: "Mew~"

I'm so cute! Please give me the fish.

"What are you staring at? I'm not giving it to you! Do you think you can just meow at me and steal my hard-earned catch?" Gyro pinched her cheek and shook it gently.

Why doesn't this cat even have whiskers?

"Meow," Emi pretended not to understand.

Looking at the little fluffball, Gyro's playful side surfaced. After securing his meager catch, he said, "There's an saying: 'Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.' Take this rod. See that blade of grass at the end of the line?"

Johnny pretended to teach Emi how to fish, putting on a show of expertise.

When he was done, he turned his head away. "Alright, you've learned how to fish. Go catch your own and stop bothering me."

"..."

Emi lowered her head, staring intently at Johnny's fishing rod for a moment.

Then, the rod jerked sharply.

"Meow!"

Emi bit down on the rod and yanked it back with all her might. A fish twice the size of the one Gyro had just caught flopped onto the shore, its tail slapping against the ground.

"?"

Gyro's eyes widened in confusion and shock.

[Congratulations, Host! You have unlocked the Achievement [Never Empty-Handed].]

[Reward: Basic Fishing Manual. Physical rewards must be claimed manually.]

"Meow?" Emi tilted her head briefly, then lowered it again.

Time for lunch.

Gyro watched as the clever cat neatly removed the fish from the hook with her teeth. She casually flicked the rod aside with her paw and began devouring her catch.

Unexpectedly, the swat sent the rod back into the lake, and even without bait, it started moving again.

"Meow." Emi immediately dropped the fish in her mouth and pounced on the next one.

"???"

Another fish was caught, and Emi resumed her meal. But the rod she had tossed aside jerked again. She quickly reeled in the line, unhooked the fish, and tossed the rod back—only for it to start moving again.

Within three minutes, the shore reeked of fish, though they were all small.

"???"

Gyro slapped his cheek.

Are these fish trying to commit suicide today? And did that cat really learn to fish?

Stunned, Gyro glanced down at his own fishing rod, which hadn't moved since his first catch.

Keeping his gaze fixed on the lake, he whistled casually and reached over to scoop Emi's fish into his own bucket.

"Meow?" Emi tilted her head, puzzled.

Gyro grinned, flashing his gold tooth, and rubbed his fingers together. "This isn't stealing. I taught you how to fish, right? A little tuition fee isn't unreasonable. In human society, fairness means exchanging something to get something else."

Emi blinked her large eyes, finding nothing wrong with Gyro's logic. She often brought dead mice home to her mother as a token of gratitude for being cared for.

She looked down at the two small fish in front of her, then at Gyro's overflowing bucket.

A surge of anger rose within her, and malice flared in her heart.

The cat sprang up and kicked Gyro squarely in the back. The force was far greater than he'd anticipated, sending the burly, six-foot-tall man tumbling into the lake.

Bewildered, Gyro surfaced, wiping his face. "What was that for? You ungrateful fluffball!"

He reached for his fishing rod, intending to use it as a makeshift club. Seeing this, Emi snatched the largest fish and bolted, disappearing for good this time.

"...Did it actually understand what I was saying?" Gyro muttered in disbelief.

"Gyro, is there an enemy?" Johnny returned from the restroom, his gaze darting around suspiciously.

"No, no, it's nothing," Gyro said, setting down his rod. "I just caught a massive fish, but I lost it. It must have weighed at least twenty pounds!"

Johnny glanced down at the pile of smaller fish on the bank. "Wow... Did you catch all of these?"

Gyro paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "Yep, all mine. Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Impressive! Teach me!"